A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the first, largest, fastest, most heavily armed, or best known.

Over the years, the term "flagship" has become a metaphor used in industries such as broadcasting, automobiles, airlines, and retailing to refer to their highest profile or most expensive products and locations.

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In common naval use, the term flagship is fundamentally a temporary designation; the flagship is wherever the admiral's flag is being flown. However, admirals have always needed additional facilities, including a meeting room large enough to hold all the captains of the fleet and a place for the admiral's staff to make plans and draw up orders. Historically, only larger ships could accommodate such requirements.

In the 20th century, ships became large enough that the larger types, cruisers and up, could accommodate a commander and staff. Some larger ships may have a separate flag bridge for use by the admiral and his staff while the captain commands from the main navigation bridge. Because its primary function is to coordinate a fleet, a flagship is not necessarily more heavily armed or armored than other ships. During World War II admirals often preferred a faster ship over the largest one.

Modern flagships are designed primarily for command and control rather than for fighting, and are also known as command ships.

As with many other naval terms, flagship has crossed over into general usage, where it means the most important or leading member of a group, as in the flagship station of a broadcast network. Is used as both a noun and adjective describing the most prominent or highly touted product, brand, location, or service offered by a company. Derivations include the "flagship brand" or "flagship product" of a manufacturing company, "flagship store" of a retail chain, or "flagship service" of a hospitality or transportation concern.

Electronics companies may have a series of products considered to be their flagship, usually consisting of one or two products that is updated periodically. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S series consists of several flagship smartphones that are released on a yearly basis.

In rail transport, a "flagship service" is either the fastest or most luxurious. Often it is also a named train or service.[citation needed] In some cases, special service or a class "above first class" may be available in the flagship service while it is not offered in normal services.[original research?] Flagship services are often used to present the company in advertising or abroad.

Berdahl notes further that because flagships are generally the oldest schools within a system, they are often the largest and best financed and are perceived as elite relative to non-flagship state schools.[5] He comments that "Those of us in 'systems' of higher education are frequently actively discouraged from using the term 'flagship' to refer to our campuses because it is seen as hurtful to the self-esteem of colleagues at other institutions in our systems. The use of the term is seen by some as elitist and boastful. It is viewed by many, in the context of the politics of higher education, as 'politically incorrect.' ... Only in the safe company of alumni is one permitted to use the term."[5] Additionally, the term flagship is widely understood to encompass only public (state-supported) universities, even in states which may contain more eminent private universities.

Nevertheless, the term "flagship university" is still used in official contexts by the U.S. Department of Education, various state university system boards of governors, and state legislatures.[6][7][8][9][10] Additionally, state universities often self-designate themselves as flagships.[11][12] Higher education agencies, research journals, and other organizations also use the term, though their lists of flagship universities can differ greatly. One list of 50 flagship universities (one per state) is employed by the Higher Education Coordinating Board,[13] the College Board,[2][3] the Princeton Review[14] and many other state and federal educational and governmental authorities[15] for a variety of purposes including tuition and rate comparisons,[1][16][17] research studies[18][19][20][21] and public policy analyses.[22][23][24][25] Given the widespread use of this list, it has been described as a "nationally recognizable and accepted list of flagship universities".[26]

Despite its ubiquity, this list of 50 flagships is not the only state-by-state examination of flagships. In a 2010 article, Standard & Poor's created its own list of flagship universities, noting that each state had typically one or two institutions with flagship characteristics.[27] The Education Sector, an education policy organization, used a different list of 51 flagship universities in an August 2011 study of college debt. Several states had multiple universities categorized as flagships due to "less of a clear distinction between a single flagship and other public universities" in those states.[28] Additionally, several states were not included in the study due to insufficient comparative data.[28] There are many instances in which more than one school in a state has claimed to be, or has been described as, a "flagship".[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]

In February 2012, Idaho's State Board of Education made a controversial decision to strike the word "flagship" from the University of Idaho's mission statement.[38] The Board's President Richard Westerberg explained that this revision was made as part of the board's many changes made to multiple Idaho universities' mission statements in an effort to ensure all statements were consistent and collegial in nature rather than comparative or competitive.[39]

A flagship station is the principal station of a (radio or TV) broadcast network. It can be the station that produces the largest amount of material for the network, or the station in the parent company's home city, or both. The term dates back to the mid twentieth century years of broadcasting when headquarters stations produced programs for their networks.

In sports broadcasting, the "flagship" is a team's primary station in their home market, which produces game broadcasts and feeds them to affiliates. For example, WGN was the flagship station of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, which has an extensive Cubs radio network spanning several states.

The term flagship is also used to describe the top vehicle manufactured by a very expensive automotive marque.

The term "halo car" is often used in automotive marketing and journalism to refer a limited production, exceedingly expensive vehicle which creates a halo effect for its maker.[41] The term is not synonymous with "flagship". Halo cars are primarily the best car a company can make in performance, and are produced in limited numbers or with low sales expectations in order to generate public appeal for the brand. Such cars include the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Ferrari Enzo, and BMW i8.